UCLA SMACS receives Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award

Posted on

Green image 0 0

The UCLA Student Members of the American Chemical Society has been awarded a Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award for activities in the 2014-15 academic year. 

SMACS was one of only 43 chapters nationwide to receive the award, given to student groups which promote green chemistry on campus, by the American Chemistry Society’s Green Chemistry Institute. SMACS also received a Commendable Student Chapter Award for the overall quality of their efforts in chapter development, professional development, and community service. 

SMACS’s success in promoting green chemistry was highlighted in the ACS Green Chemistry Institute’s Nexus Newsletter. SMACS officers were asked to share tips with other student chapter leaders on how to facilitate green chemistry events. “The green chemistry events have been some of our most informative,” says former SMACS president Nanetta Pon. “Luckily, UCLA has several professors working on green chemistry, and many are enthusiastic about sharing their research with students.”

SMACS Green
SMACS members on a tour of the UCLA Cogeneration Plant that provides power, heat and cooling to the university. 

In his letter announcing the award the Director of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Dr. David Constable wrote “Professor Richard Kaner, faculty advisor of the chapter, deserves special commendation. Few faculty members are willing to make the great commitment of time and energy that a successful chapter requires. Professor Kaner’s efforts are representative of the very best in undergraduate science education and mentoring.”

In the 2014-15 year, SMACS’s hosted speakers such as Eduardo Garcia from the Metropolitan Water District and UCLA Professor Yi Tang, who works on biosynthesis of natural products. For Earth Day, officers ran a booth about green chemistry in personal care products. Students plan to put on similar events this year. 

To learn more about SMACS visit their website and find their upcoming events here.